True Emotion
by UnwrittenLanguage
Summary: Headaches suck. Immensely. And when a certain water bender is plagued with one she goes to see the medicine man. Although the potion she was given stopped the throbbing in her head, she was plagued with strange dreams. Dreams full of an enticing fire bender offering her much more than a relief from headaches.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright here is my first Zutara fanfic. It was a struggle because school is a pain but ta-da I did it. **

**Inside this story you will find cussing and lemons. You have been warned. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The last Airbender or hold any respective claims to it. Thank- you very much.**

* * *

_Katara could feel the rhythmic pulse of heat surging through her body as she crumbled to the ground. Her pants were loud and incessant, seemingly endless. Hands glided over her body as if driven by some unknown force. Curling into a ball she could feel one of her hands glide past her chest and lower, to where the heat came from. She fumbled with the cloth and then felt one chill fingers reach the folds of heat, rubbing enticing circles around it. _

_She moaned, pleasure driving her to tilt her head forward even more. The sand shifted under her as one finger slipped into her slick folds causing her to shiver. With eyes closed, her finger began to move, up and down, in a set pace. Soon another finger inserted itself into her searing heat causing another moan to slip from her lips. _

_Her free hand reached for her chest pinching her nipples through the fabric blocking its contact. She gritted her teeth in frustration trying to search for more of the delicious friction similar to the one where warmth seemed to pour out of her. Giving up she settled with rubbing through the fabric and felt some sort of pressure build up inside her. Katara wasn't sure what to compare this feeling to. It was unlike anything she had felt before. _

_Even though she knew this was wrong, she just couldn't stop. It was as if something was pushing her to do these things some unknown…oh._

_Her fingers sped up._

_Then finally it came. Her muffled gasp came out followed by a scream. It echoed larger than the crashing waves behind her that, as if reacting to her release, increased its intensity. The waves calmed as silence settled over the water bender. Her breaths began to lengthen and quiet. She removed her hands and settled into a sort of content haze when suddenly she wasn't alone anymore. Someone else was here. A warm body, generating so much heat settled over her own. She could feel the tension that was in here before, begin to rise again as if reacting to the strange entity. A groan came from above her, a groan that she could compare to her own only a few minutes before. A groan of pure need. _

_She felt her hand reach out and brush dark hair away from their face. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath. A strong smell of ash and smoke could be smelt along with a sort of citrus. It wasn't just like a smell of a person but more like their soul. Their head lifter up and she felt the warm breath on her face. And then she saw it. Her breath stilled as her azure eyes stared back into two golden orbs. A familiar scar, puckered with healing tissue, peeked from his left eye. _

_And then his lips descended on hers_

_The flame reached a new intensity, heat enveloping her body in a shroud of pleasure. And the moon, enhanced by the sun shed light on them both._

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Katara**_

Katara groaned. Ever since she woke up this morning she had this terrible headache. Honestly this headache had to be the mother of all headaches because it literally felt like Appa decided to step on her head after Momo threw coconuts at it and Zuko came and liquefied her brain.

Yeah, that bad.

Another groan escaped her mouth. "Katara are you okay?" Aang asked, concern clear in his voice.

She stared , "No."

He pouted, showing his disapproval, "You should go see the medicine man."

"Yeah, maybe he'll know how to fix your woman problems." It was Sokka, she had wondered why he was so quiet. _Just waiting for the right opportunity to piss her off_, she guessed.

"Woman problems?" Aang was clearly confused.

"Yeah woman problems," Sokka paused mischief clear in his eyes, "You know how every month they have this thing where-"

"We get really angry and may possibly kill their brother because said brother is asking for death," she said, cutting him off.

Aang's eyes widened, "Oh. That's…bad."

Sokka had shrunk back, "Really."

She sighed, "But I think I should take Aang's advice and just go see the medicine man. Hopefully he'll have something to fix this whatever this is."

"I'll go with you," grey eyes looked into her own hoping for a good answer.

Too bad for those grey eyes.

"No, that won't be-"

She was cut off by Sokka running off to some cart, "Guys look! it's the Blue Jade sword!"

"Blue Jade sword?" Katara asked.

He turned to her eyes gleaming with excitement, "Its said this sword has the power to destroy both demons and evil spirits."

"And?"

Now he looked confused, "And what?"

"What has this got to do with anything? We're supposed to be looking for an earth bending teacher not some sword."

"I know but look at it." He pointed toward the whateveritwas.

And she did. All 4 and a half feet of it. She had to admit though, it was pretty, but it was probably something like a knock-off of the original one. "Sokka, no."

"Just hand me the money bag you can trust me this time."

"Last time you squandered it on some weird melon juice that made you hallucinate and act crazy."

"Well it TASTED good."

"No, not happening."

"Please?" He grabbed her arm.

"No." She could feel her headache growing when she felt another hand on her arm. It was Aang.

"You can give me the pouch I'll watch it and make sure he doesn't squander it all, I mean it seems like an easy enough game."

She eyed Sokka, then Aang, Sokka again, then back to Aang. "Okay I'll just take a few coins out for the medicine."

After the money had been properly separated and made sure it was safe from Sokka's ready-to-spend hands Katara asked where the Medicine man was and went on her way.

The street with the medicine man was desolate, empty and if she had to admit, downright creepy. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, on this street. Only the wind and her tentative footsteps on the dry ground. Katara kept her hand near her pouch. Something just felt odd about this place, As if something was off. Maybe it was the atmosphere or that every little noise she made was like a gunshot in the silence. Finally after tripping over 3 rocks and plenty of air she saw the medicine man's store. Well that's what she assumed it was. The sign was torn an battered so much that the words that used to say medicine man now said: ED INE N

So, yeah she assumed it was the right place.

The door was closed, but after further inspection she noticed it was open. Pushing the door out of the way, with a loud creak she stepped in. Her feet were padded by both her boots and the mat laid down on the floor. She looked around checking for any signs of life. This was definitely a medicine place of some sort, with bottles stacked everywhere on shelves reaching the ceilings which, didn't reach very high.

She took a few steps further and noticed the pile of clothes behind a counter. This made her wonder why there was clothes instead of a person behind the counter when they moved. And not just, 'Oh must be the wind' moved more like 'Its freaking alive' moved.

Katara took a few more tentative steps closer, "Hello?" Her voice was nervous, not as strong as usual.

"Hello," The voice was coarse, gravelly as if it had been through years of disuse. It seemed to shake even as it only spat out one word. But even with all that it still sounded powerful, ancient.

"Um, would you happen to have any medicine?"

The cloth shook as a scratchy laugh came muffled from under it. "Medicine? I am the medicine man so of course." Now with more words she hinted the masculine voice and slight accent coming from the bundle of clothes.

"Well do you have anything for headaches?"

At this the pile of cloth got up and slowly, almost painfully, walked to the curtained door that was right next to the counter. The cling of glasses could be heard before he came back carrying two vials. He set them down on the counter in front of her, old skeleton like fingers shaking, almost struggling to hold the bottles.

"Now I can't remember which one was right…" he trailed off beady black eyes staring at the two vials intently as silence settled in the room. One was a misty purple the other a green blue.

Then suddenly he reached out and grabbed the purple vial presenting it in her face as if showing off a prized puppy, "This one," he said, "I'm sure its this one."

She reaches out and gently takes the purple vial from his hands, "Are you sure?"

Another scratchy laugh, this one shakier, "I'm the medicine man here. I know what I'm doing."

He then turned and slouched down in his seat once more. Katara reaches for the money she had took to pay for the medicine when a cool hand lands on her own, "Do not worry for the price, it is no issue, just get better soon."

She smiled, a sincere smile, "Thank-you."

"Do not worry, I have enough sick people to keep me going for years."

"That's good sir," she turned to leave ."Thank-you again

After she had gone she couldn't hear what he had said that was uttered so silently that she would have barely heard even if she was there.

"Ah, maybe it was this one." he said taping the blue vial.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Zuko**_

Zuko was on fire. Not just angry fire, but real actual flames flickering on his body. As he took deep breaths smoke billowed out of his nostrils which would be funny if he wasn't so pissed off.

"HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO FIND SOME 11 OR 12 YEAR-OLD KID?!" He glared at his crew.

"Well technically he's 111 or 112 years old." his uncle decided to say.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" His hands slammed on the metal desk melting holes into it.

Iroh had to think fast, "Nephew have some tea."

Wrong tactic.

"TEA? WHY IS IT ALWAYS TEA WITH YOU?"

Okay time to switch tactics. Or not.

"But nephew this tea was imported straight from Ba Sing Sei. Its said to have some magical elements that help you calm down better."

His nephew stopped melting his desk, seeming to have a sudden interest in tea, "Magical elements?"

Iroh decided to use this to his advantage, "Yes of course. Why would I lie?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed but he sat down anyways a and grumbled, "No reason I guess."

His uncle rattled off some orders to one of the crew members before standing beside his nephew. "Good. Now, what's really wrong Zuko? This can't all be about the avatar."

Zuko sighed, exasperated, "In a way it is but all I want is for father to welcome me back and for this scar to no longer mean what it does."

Well that's what he could've said, in actuality he just snapped at his uncle, "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong."

His uncle held up hands in defense, "I'm sorry if I offended you nephew no need to bite my head off."

"Where is the tea Uncle?"

Iroh shrugged, uncertain, "It should be here soon.." he trailed off as the door opened with a sever bringing steaming cups of tea. "See it came."

Zuko reached for a cup after it had been set down on his newly sort of melted desk. He welcomed the warmth from the cup before letting the hot liquid slide down his throat. Instantly he felt calm. His nerves all seemed to relax as he felt himself indulging in sip after sip. Although he couldn't quite identify the flavor he enjoyed every last drop there was to savor until not only the cup but the whole pot was empty. Iroh eyed his nephew noting the silent calm that seemed to wash over him.

"So how was it?" he asked curious as to how his nephew would react.

"Good enough."

Iroh laughed, "I should hope so it cost enough to buy us a small boat."

He looked at his uncle, "Only you could spend a small fortune on tea."

Zuko looked around suddenly sleepy. After yawning and excusing himself from the room, he then walked slowly down the metal hallway. The sound of his metal armor echoed off the ships hard walls. He turned into his suite where a medium bed sat in the middle of a large metal room. Falling onto his bed, he was barely able to get his armor off before dozing off into a dream centered around a mysterious woman who seemed oddly familiar.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Katara**_

Katara sat in the woods where her, Aang and Sokka had decided to set up camp. She was leaning against Appa letting him support her while holding the small medicine vial in her hand. Her head throbbed with her headache still growing strong. After buying the medicine her headache had disappeared but then suddenly it had come back almost as if it was an on again, off again cold. She rubbed her temples before popping the vial open and gulped down all of its contents.

Almost immediately afterwards she began to feel sleepy. Her eyes drooping with sudden exhaustion. Appa's snores turned into a gentle vibration that lead her deeper into sleep.

Then she began to dream.

Usually her dreams were scattered and overall strange. Often she'd wake up and no longer remember what she was dreaming about. But this time it was different. She could sense it. She was on a beach, gentle waves rocking against the shore. She could feel the pull of the ocean as if the water was calling for her. Then she saw someone coming from the east the sun rising behind them.

They were male, and wore red, the color of the fire nation. She tried to will her body into a fighting stance but she couldn't. Her body wouldn't listen to her. Instead of trying to get away from the person coming closer, her feet moved her forward. As she reached them she gasped recognizing who the person in front of her was.

She began to mentally scream at herself to attack, or to run, to do anything other than walk closer to him. Katara wanted to cry. She had never felt so entirely hopeless. Her body continued to push her forward, the scar on his face becoming more prominent as she drew closer. When standing in front of him she noted the confusion in his eyes that most likely mirrored her own. But why was he confused? He was the one in _her_ dream.

They stopped when their faces where only a mere inch or two apart. That was when they heard the voice, 'Just follow your instincts. Let out your true emotions trapped inside.'

The Fire Prince stared at her when his hand came up to cradle her face, he seemed surprised by his actions as if he didn't expect that he would be able to move it.

She melted at his touch.

It was as if she had suddenly become milk chocolate in his hands. Her legs felt like giving out. Why did she feel this way? It was so wrong. They should be blasting each other with fire balls and water spears at this point not touching each other in such an intimate fashion. This went against everything they knew. He was trying to kill the Avatar, her friend, Aang.

But none of these facts stopped her from sliding her hands over his clothed chest. Her touch was tentative, nervous almost. The urge to run her fingers through his hair was strong as she felt him shudder underneath her. His other hand came around to cup her face, his mouth opening enveloping her in the scent of various citrus fruits and smoke, the taste of fire. Katara felt her head lift as his began to descend towards hers.

His lips brushed against hers. A brief feather light touch. Then…

She woke up.

Aang was over her, grey eyes looking into her blue ones, "Sweet Dreams?" He asked

She shuddered, the dream was so vivid. So _real_. She could remember every detail even the feel of his lips brushing over hers. Her fingers gently stroked her lips in remembrance.

Aang looked at her, his eyebrows bunching up, "What's wrong?"

Katara blushed and quickly stumbled onto her feet, "Nothing's wrong. My headaches gone."

Which was true. Her headache was gone.

He still looked suspicious, "Okay, if you say so."

But she had lied. Well hadn't told the whole truth. Something told her that wasn't just a dream. And yet she had wanted it to never end.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Zuko**_

Zuko woke up to the metal ceiling of his bulking ship. He groaned as he thought of the strange dream he had last night. Everything had seemed so surreal. It had seemed like he was actually there. There on the beach, in the sand. There with _her_. He turned with a groan again. Of all people why was it her. And what was with that voice? True emotions? What did it all mean?

He shook his head trying to get over his confusion. Getting up out of bed he heard a knock at his door. "Come in." he called.

A man in metal armor came in followed by his uncle. His uncle was the first to speak, "We have stopped a little ways from the coast of the town Turepi. We wouldn't want to start a war in the earth kingdom."

"Of course not. That's my father's job." he snorted. "Is that all?"

"No," this time it was the man in armor who spoke, "Some of the crew would like to go down and look at the small town and everything it has to offer.

Zuko could hear the smile in the warriors voice.

"Go ahead, just don't cause any trouble that would make it hard for us to leave." And with those words the armored man left.

He heard a clap from his uncle, "Good job nephew one of the first sensible decisions I've heard from you as of late."

He glared at the old man, "I just have enough on my mind. I don't want to worry about how I'll get back home later on."

Iroh smiled, "Still that is better than it was before."

Another glare. Iroh walked to the door, "You should enjoy yourself too nephew. Your still young have fun while you can before your old and lonely like me."

"Yes, uncle I understand I guess I'll try to have fun."

"That's all I wanted to hear Zuko." He left closing the door behind him.

Zuko dropped right back down onto the bed and began to replay the events that happened in his dream over and over and over…

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Katara**_

Even with her crazy as life dream Katara had found she was well rested and decided to take a walk to the creek in the woods. As she washed herself of the previous days travels she kept thinking of her dream. Then suddenly the cascading water wasn't just water anymore it was his hands. The cool water becoming a gentle warmth nursing the flames surging within her. She felt her breath hitch and come faster. It was then that she decided that maybe she had enough bath time.

Stepping out of the river she dried and dressed herself. It was then she heard something in the bushes to her right. Quickly she flicked her head in that direction and settled into a stance. After a few moments of silence however, she relaxed and began walking back to camp uneasiness crawling over her skin. Once at camp Katara immediately noticed Sokka holding a sword with a blue jade in its hilt. She decided to sit next to him.

"So finally got your fancy sword?"

"Yes and isn't it great?" he held it up into a patch of sunlight.

"Yeah pretty, pretty, shiny shiny. So its real then?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. It could be and it could not be."

"So you'll have to wait until some random evil spirit or demon comes for you to figure out its real?"

"Yep."

She pursed her lips, "That's stupid."

"Its good to have multiple weapons you know."

"What so you can get yourself killed due to your idiocy?

He glared at her for that one.

"What? Its true. You never know."

"You know what else is true?"

"What?"

"Me being your big brother."

"And?"

"And that means I have every right to try it on you and your evil spirit." And then he chased her around the clearing.

The two of them laughed and ran not noticing Aang until they both almost knocked him down. Coming to a stop in front of him Katara speaks first, "Oh hey Aang. Didn't see you there."

He nods and points to the sky, "I just came from the tree. But, um, what are you guys doing?"

"Nothing really just having a little fun."

His eyes light up, "Fun?" They darken again. "Wait Katara you sure your headache is gone?"

She nods eagerly, "I almost believe it wasn't ever there in the first place."

He smiles, "That's good, now about this fun…"

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~

After a day of playing around the gang start to pack up moving to the next town, Turepi. There they hoped to buy some more supplies before heading further into the earth kingdom. Settling down on Appa, Katara watched as Aang steered the flying bison into the sky. She watched his back for a little bit before turning to her brother who, judging by his snores, was already asleep. She then turned towards the sky feeling the gentle pull of the moon as she stared at it. The white haze of it drifted through the clouds being covered by the few that passed in front of it. As she continued to watch she felt her eyes slowly droop in exhaustion, her breath becoming deeper, more relaxed, until finally she was asleep.

It was the beach again. The fire prince was nowhere in sight. She looked at where he had come last time and saw nothing, only the blue haze of the moon.

Wait. Blue?

Katara looked at the moon and noted that it was, indeed, blue. The moon was a light tint of blue turning the beach into the same color as itself. She looked around, confused. Then something began to ripple and rise in the water. At first it appeared to be only a sphere of water but on closer inspection she noted that there was a person inside of it. The person was in all blue like someone of the water tribe but in the style of someone from the fire kingdom.

This only made her more confused,

Katara got up from the sitting position she had been in and watched as the sphere drew in closer. The sphere came until it floated a foot off the ground in front of her. This close up she could see that the person inside was a girl. The girl may have been a few years older than her. But that wasn't the odd part. The girl looked like her, only she seemed to posses an ethereal, almost supernatural, air. She wore blue cloth that wrapped around her chest and stopped right above her belly button. Her skirt ended above her thighs with short leggings underneath all in the same blue hue of the moon. In fact the color was so similar she began to wonder is she were the moon herself. Her eyes, which were closed before, began to open.

Underneath her eyelids the eyes glowed slightly but seemed to be the same color as Katara's. Her long brown hair lay completely down. She wore no jewelry other then the water tribe choker Katara always wore. She gasped at the similarity between her and the strange girl, touching her neck to make sure her own necklace was still in place.

It was.

The strange woman brought her eyes to Katara's and then opened her mouth to speak, "I am Azuri." Her voice was breathless, sounding almost like her own, but she could still hear the power within it. Power that must have been almost limitless. Ancient.

"Azuri?" Katara's voice was hesitant, a mere whisper.

"Yes, Katara. I know you better then you may know your own self." Azuri's eyes locked onto her own, holding her into their azure depths.

"I don't understand."

Azuri's eyes closed, "You don't need to understand. Not yet."

Katara thought about this, "Were you the one responsible for that dream yesterday?"

Her eyes opened again with a slow nod, "Me and another."

"Who's another?" Katara was still suspicious.

She shook he head, "That I can not say."

Her foot hit the sand in frustration, "Why not?"

"Is it really necessary to know why? Even if you did know it won't erase the dream. But I can say that the dream happened because of a connection with the person you saw."

Katara looked up at the emotionless eyes that were so alike to her own, "Connection?"

"Yes, something is bringing you two together. Something strong enough to draw me and that person out."

Her head shook as her hands covered her eyes, "I don't get it. A connection? With him? It doesn't make any sense."

"In time you may come to understand but for now I must take my leave." The sphere began to rise back in the air.

"Wait! I have one last question!"

The sphere stopped moving.

"Why do you look like me?"

"I AM you Katara."

And with that the sphere disappeared back into the ocean and Katara woke up to a gentle shake on her shoulder. It was Aang.

"Katara we're here."

"What's here?" She asked rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Turepi, we're here."

Katara leaned over Appa and saw they were once again in the woods and also that it was sunlight streaming through the trees. "It doesn't look like we've moved at all."

"Well we're in the forest so we wouldn't startle the whole town with a giant bison."

She looked at Aang's air bending tattoos and air bender garb before mumbling, "Yes, because I'm sure you're quite enough to cause panic in the town."

Aang's eyebrow's drew together in a look of confusion, "What do you mean?"

Her hair shifted as she shook her head, "Nothing Aang." She looked around. "Where's sokka?"

"In town getting some food."

Her eyes widened in panic, "You left HIM in charge of buying FOOD?"

Aang looked taken aback, "Yes... Is that bad?"

"No it wasn't bad just crazy!" Katara raced into town to find her brother. It didn't take long seeing as he already had a steadily growing mound of food in his arms. "Sokka!"

Her brother turned to him and smiled, "Hey Katara what's up?"

She investigated his pile of food making sure all of it was needed.

Sokka brought his face to hers, "I asked, 'What's up?' Too much water in your ears?"

Katara didn't look at him, eyes still studying the pile of food, "I was just making sure you didn't squander the little amount of money we had on stupid stuff."

He gasped, "I'm responsible too. Just not Katara responsible."

She frowned, "Well I'm glad to see that you didn't."

"Who's the big brother here?"

"You are but sometimes I question-"

He cut her off, "Yes I am."

Her frown deepened, "Okay lets just finish this."

They bought the food which was mostly fruit since it was easy to eat and Aang didn't eat meat. After dragging it back to camp Katara left and traveled to the river to work on her water bending techniques. The river was farther away than she anticipated but that didn't stop her from continuing to the rushing sound of water. Lately it seemed as if she had more time to practice and she knew she should use that time to her advantage. First she practiced breathing and then let the water move around her as easily as the breath that left her mouth. The water felt like an extension of herself and she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of it. Time moved by quickly and she barely noticed the sun had set until she heard the crack of a leaf to her left.

Quickly freezing the water she moved to let it sit in the air waiting for who it was to strike her or attack. Her eyes traveled over the bush where she had heard the noise. Then as soon as she had moved her foot one centimeter a fire ball blasted past her hair only missing her because she was able to duck down in time. Soon after the first fire ball several more blasted past her. Luckily she was standing in the river the water acting as her protection from getting her head blasted off.

Katara waited continuing to doge the fire balls until her pursuer stepped out of where he was hiding. Then she saw him. It was as if some inner force had pulled the plug and drained all the energy out of her. No maybe that wasn't right. It wasn't like she couldn't fight him she just didn't want to. What was wrong with her? Using all her will power she brought the water out to drag him into the river. Concentrating she was able to freeze him in the river. She stepped forward cautiously and peered at the frozen face. His eyes were wide in shock, the scar on the left side of his face making one see normal rather then open in surprise. His lips were locked close, his hands spread out in front of him and if trying to fight the ice off.

Then she noticed the scar etched onto the side of his face, his hair in the top knot making the fire emblem obvious in his hair. Although the ice made his face a bit distorted she was still able to connect the dots and form a name, "Zuko?"

The moment she had spoken the ice shattered and he was there, eyes glowing with heat. Katara almost succeeded in a counter attack. But she was too late. The fire prince grabbed her around her neck, red, heated fingers sinking into her skin. Then at the moment when she felt her self come close to passing out, he stopped. And as his hands cooled down she could see the confused expression in his face as if he wasn't sure himself why he had stopped.

Using his hesitance, Katara willed the river to form a wave forcing him to let her go. As he defended himself from the oncoming wave she took her chance to run for it. At the last second when she was almost in the cover of the forest again she turned and stared at the fire prince, something inside her breaking every time she took a step further away from him. Shaking the emotion off she disappeared into the trees running until she was sure it was safe. Running until she was sure the pain in her feet could mask the pain in her heart.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoO~

Katara had finally made it to camp last night and immediately passed out before telling Sokka and Aang about her encounter. She groaned as she got up to her feet noting the aching pain as she did. Then she realized that she didn't have that strange dream again where she saw the strange woman, Azuri, or the fire prince. She felt a sting in her heart when thinking of the fire prince. Her eyes knotted in frustration, what was happening to her? After stretching she made her way over to Appa to grab breakfast, a mango and some leafy thing she assumed was lettuce.

Well hoped was lettuce.

When fully nourished she realized she only had her bindings on thankful that she had decided to sleep behind Appa last night away from the guys. Then another flush formed on her face as she realized that Zuko had seen her. In her under bindings. She sunk to the ground beginning to question her purity and wondering who would take her as a bride since another man had seen her. Practically ALL of her, when she heard a voice to her left.

"Mornin' sis I see you've decided to finally join the party?"

She tilted her head, it was her brother. "If this is a party then I never want to go to one."

He frowned. "Anyways you might want to put on some clothes before he comes over. He might nosebleed everywhere and then die form blood loss leaving the world doomed because you somehow kill-"

"Okay I get it, just go away so I can change."

He smirked before walking away whistling a strange tune.

Once she was dressed, Katara leaned back onto Appa and began to think about everything. Her dream, the fire prince, a strange woman named Azuri, and someone who orchestrated this whole thing. But who? What could someone gain from strange hallucinatory dreams? Also why did it hurt so much to leave him at the river? Her curls tossed themselves around her head as she shook it.

Nothing was making sense anymore.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Zuko**_

Zuko had never felt so tired, or so wet. He sat in his room staring at the ceiling. It had been two days. Two days since those strange dreams had started. Dreams of the water bender and a strange man called Izura. He began to think about the weird dream some more, reliving the moment which had felt so real, too real.

He was back on the beach again on this time there was no moon on the sun shining bright in the sky only this time it seemed to come closer. No, wait it was coming closer. His eyes widened as the ball of heat floated in front of him. He should've been covering his eyes from the brightness, backing away from the heat, but he wasn't. He stood still because the sun had no heat and it didn't burn to look at it, if he didn't know better he'd say it was more like water than fire. He began to imagine if it was cool to the touch when the man inside began to speak.

Although the man wore different shades of red like someone of the Fire Nation, the clothes were styled in the fashion of someone from the water nation. White furs on jackets with hoods, stood in place of what should have been a vest. Long fluffy pants and boots were in replacement of short trousers and slippers.

Zuko looked at the man's closed eyes staring in wonderment at the resemblance between the two. He had the same scar and same black hair only wearing it down and longer than his own, coming to his shoulders. Although something seemed off. The man seemed older and emitted an air more powerful than Zuko could ever make. He watched, hypnotized, as the man opened his eyes to reveal the same golden orbs he held on his own face.

He stood there waiting for the man to speak until he saw the stranger wouldn't speak until he did, "Who are you?"

"Young fire prince, you know who I am."

Zuko snorted, "I'd beg to differ."

A sigh, "Fire prince Zuko I am Izura."

He stood waiting for him to explain. "And?"

"I know none of this makes sense but I am you."

"I see that." Zuko paused, "Are you the reason for these dreams?"

"I may or may not be."

He was losing patience, "What do you mean may or may not be!?"

He chuckled at the outburst, "I mean that I am not the only one responsible."

"Then who else is it? Would you care to explain?"

"I would."

Zuko could feel the fire surging through his body the angrier he got. "Then what are you here for."

Izura tapped his chin, "I wonder."

"This isn't a game!"

"Isn't it?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed into suspicion, "What do you want?"

"Nothing but I must go now."

"You haven't explained anything to me though!"

"I've explained more than enough. Its up to you to figure out the rest." He began to rise once more into the sky.

Zuko's jaw clenched as he threw a fireball at the disappearing orb.

He missed.

"URRGGGGHH!"

After he had screamed he woke up and no more dreams have come since then. Then he began to think about his encounter with the water bender. Usually he had control over his actions unless he was pissed off. But this was strange. When he had grabbed her neck, fingers scorching her skin, something inside of him just couldn't do it. He just couldn't kill her. And he imagined that if he met her again, he still wouldn't be able too. It was too confusing, nothing was adding up.

He groaned.

Nothing seemed the same as before.

* * *

**Don't worry there will be lemon in the next one. I promise. **

**So enlighten me. Was it good? Bad? Leave a comment and let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here is chapter 2. I was going to upload it earlier but things happened so...meh. **

**Warning there is lemon. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, sadly. Sorry to disappoint.**

* * *

_**Katara**_

Tomorrow they were to depart from the city and head further into the Earth Kingdom to meet Aang's old friend. But for now Sokka advised them all to go to sleep, Katara included. For the past day or two the dreams hadn't been coming instead they returned back into what they used to be before, meaningless blurbs, memories of the mother she had lost and the family she wondered if she'd ever see again. She sighed and began thinking of her home in the southern water tribe. Gran-gran, all the kids, and everyone else. She missed them all including her father who she had not seen in so long. Soon enough she found herself drifting into sleep, her eyes fluttering closed and before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

She was back. Back on the strange island where she had met Azuri and had the encounter with Zuko. Only this time Azuri wasn't here. No one was. It was only her, and the moon this time was a clear white instead of a blue haze.

"What's happening?"

_"Let out your true emotions."_

Katara looked around. The voice seemed to have come from nowhere but everywhere. It was almost like it was inside her head, as if it was her own thoughts. Although she didn't have time to think about it anymore because suddenly she felt a heat rise in her body. The words seemed to have stoked an inner fire within. Her cheeks flushed as a strange sensation overtook her.

The rhythmic pulse of heat surged through her body as she crumbled to the ground. She began to pant, loud and incessant. Her hands glided over her body as if driven by some unknown force. Curling into a ball she could feel one of her hands slide past her chest and lower, to where the heat came. After fumbling with the cloth covering her, she felt one of her chill fingers reach the folds of heat, rubbing enticing circles around it.

She moaned, pleasure driving her to tilt her head forward even more. The sand shifted under her as one finger slipped into her slick folds causing her to shiver. With eyes closed the finger began to move, up and down, in a slow pace that drover her crazy. After some time, another finger inserted itself into her causing a loud moan to slip from her lips.

Katara wasn't exactly sure what she was doing. It was strange. Her mind, which was usually leveled and clearheaded, just seemed to blank out and let her body do the work. It was like running on autopilot although instead of a plane it was her hands and fingers that she never knew could be so nimble.

Her free hand reached for her chest pinching her nipples through the fabric blocking its connection. She gritted her teeth in frustration trying to search for more of the delicious friction similar to the one where warmth seemed to poor from her. Giving up she settled with rubbing through the fabric and felt some sort of pressure build up inside her. She wasn't sure what to compare this feeling to. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Katara could sense the ocean building up pressure along with her as if responding to her.

She knew this was wrong, but she couldn't stop. It was as if something was pushing her to do these things some unknown…oh.

Her fingers sped up.

Her body tensed as a muffled groan left her mouth. The groan soon evolved into screams which were accompanied by the roar of the once calm waters behind her. Sand slid down her back and into her clothes. Oh how she itched to take them off. Removing her hands she settled into a sort of content haze when suddenly a foreign entity settled over her body. She had sensed him before she felt him. Somehow she had expected him, a little knowing part of herself knew he would be here.

His body was hot, bordering on burning. Smoke, and citrus like smells engulfed her senses. Everything around her became shrouded by him. She felt his hands on either side of her head and let her eyes drift closed. A groan came from above her. A groan of pure need. The sound was familiar to her. Reminiscent of the sounds she had let out not to long ago. He wanted- no needed her. Probably just as much as she needed him.

She let her eyes open and they were greeted by his golden ones. Calm azure meeting fierce gold. Water meeting fire. And then at that moment it was as if something clicked. One second passed. Then two, when suddenly his lips came down upon her own.

There was no gentleness, although that was to be expected. His scar tissue scrapped against her smooth skin as a soft moan was muffled by his lips on hers. They moved against each other as his elbows lay on the side of her head and nails bit into the cloth covering his shoulders. She groaned when she felt his teeth bite into her lips allowing his tongue entry into her mouth.

She could taste him. He tasted like mangoes, pineapples, cinnamon and something else she couldn't identify. It was a taste that was hard describe. A strange but oddly addictive one.

Flames licked her body and she felt like she was burning inside out. Everywhere he touched a new fire surged to life. His touch was an aphrodisiac ensuing her passion. Then his lips left hers, trailing down her jaw line. They settled above her ear blowing hot breath across it, sending tingles down Katara's body. She gasped and her eyes flew open staring at the moon.

Once again the moon was different. It was still glowing a blue haze but now the sun was close to it. The two bodies edging closer together. It was beautiful. She didn't have time to ponder the beauty of the moon when she felt his kisses drift down lower till he was suckling her neck. She moaned, as he had unknowingly found one of her erogenous spots.

Her hands released themselves from his shoulders and instead knotted themselves into his hair. He drifted lower, hovering over her bindings. At first he tried to untie them but she stopped him.

"Don't worry. Burn them." She was shocked by her own voice. So breathless and full of need. She watched as he eagerly burned the bindings and flicked one of the hard nubs.

Katara moaned once more tightening her grip on his hair. She watched him smirk and then let his tongue out to lick enticing circles around it. Not quite touching it. It was driving her insane.

"Please."

And with that one word, he brought his lips down onto her. First he nibbled, drawing out all sorts of mewling sounds from her and then he began to bite and pinch the other at the same time. Slowly though he drifted down further yanking off the rest of her clothes. She couldn't help but be thankful that they were finally gone. Now with her clothes completely gone she could feel more of him. His heat radiating onto her. The sand rubbing against her back as he settled himself between her legs. She blushed embarrassed.

"Wait Zuko I-" she was cut off by the contact of his tongue on her pink folds.

He licked starting from the bottom and ending at the top. She could feel him smirk as she screamed and writhed underneath him. Her legs locked behind his head as he burrowed his skilled tongue into her. He brought a finger up and slowly pushed it into her. Katara didn't bother holding her screams, nor did she feel embarrassed anymore. The only thing she was focused on was the way he was using his tongue and fingers to bring her to the edge.

He removed his fingers bringing her hips closer to his face. Using his tongue to swipe it across her entirely. Then he suddenly bit down on the little pink nub and she gasped before almost yanking the hair out his head and screaming.

In a haze she saw him rise and strip off his vest and trousers. He was big. Too big. Suddenly Katara could feel her courage begin to fade as he brought himself closer to her.

"Z-Zuko I-"

"Shh, Katara. Just trust me."

She bit her lip. And felt a moment of clarity come to her. Trust him? Not to long ago he was her enemy but now she was letting him do all these…things to her. What she should be doing is kicking him off and serving a giant plate of ass whooping with his name on it. Was this really what she wanted?

Then suddenly, as if the answer was already engraved into her mind, she knew.

She grabbed his shoulders and slowly nodded her head. "Show me what you got."

He smiled before dropping his lips onto hers. She expected the kiss to be just as harsh as the first one but this time it was gentler. More tender. Almost like a kissed exchanged between lovers not just two would be enemies. Katara groaned as she felt him nudge her entrance and then slowly thrust himself into her. She gasped as tears prickled her eyes. The pain was more than she had expected and had bit his lip in the process tasting the coppery taste of blood within her mouth.

He stilled as she felt herself adjust to his size getting over her initial discomfort. His head had dropped into her neck as he groaned. She could feel him pulsating inside her. It was at this moment that she glanced up at the moon again. But instead of seeing the two bodies inching towards each other, she saw an eclipse. The sun and the moon joined together as one. Just like they were. She could feel Zuko's eyes on her waiting for confirmation. Instead of answering yes or no she thrust her hips into his own. He groaned and, taking this as his lead, began to wildly thrust into her with no restraint.

Not that she was complaining.

With each thrust the sound of their bodies coming together could be heard. Strange sounds of pleasure exited her mouth each time he slid into her. Their bodies were slick with sweat making it easier to slide against each other. At one point he had somehow found the found a spot inside her that made her toes curl and her nails scrape his back possibly drawing blood. There were several times she found herself calling his name. Then suddenly she felt his hand reach down between them and pinch her small nub.

Unexpectedly she released in his arms. All the tension that had been previously building up left her body and she let out one final scream in the form of his name. Although he wasn't done, if his continued grunting and thrusting was evidence of that. He kept going, keeping a set pace, not stopping. She wasn't sure if she could take much more and felt herself coming across the verge of another release.

"Zuko!" she cried, letting go once more.

This time she didn't go alone as he joined her. His hot seed poured inside her as he called out her name as well. "Katara!"

He slouched on top of her and they both sat there. Sand and sweat covered them as they took the consequence of what they had done. Hoarse laughter bubbled up from the place Zuko had occupied on her neck. She twisted her head slightly to try and look at him but failed.

"What's so funny?" She didn't see the idea of losing her virginity funny. Dream or no dream.

"If only this wasn't a dream." He words were soft and brushed again her skin.

"What do you mean?"

He brought himself from her shoulder and looked into her eyes. Instead of the disgust or hate she expected to see there she saw…sadness? He brushed her hair from her face, "If only it wasn't a dream."

She was just about to respond when she saw the world begin to blur. Then, as soon as he came, he was gone and she was awake.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Zuko**_

Zuko woke up happiness oozing from him. Never had he felt so satisfied. For the first time in forever he woke up with a smile on his face.

Like whoa, what the fuck?

His bubble of happiness was popped by the loud sound of metal on metal. Some solider knocking on his door.

It immediately drew Zuko's attention, "What?"

The armored man walked inside taking residence in the center of his room, "The Avatar was spotted in the forest earlier.

Zuko tensed. "Thank-you solider. Give me a moment to dress myself and then you'll take me to where you had seen him."

"Yes sir." The armored man walked out of the room leaving the fire prince to himself.

Now alone, Zuko started getting dressed, grabbing his armor and wrapping his hair into its ponytail. He stepped out of his room, deep in thought. He wondered about the island and what it really was. Was it all really just a dream or something more? Of course that only lead to thoughts about the water bender and what they had done which caused a little too much stimulation downstairs then he would've liked. Shaking his head he met up with some guards on the deck who would take him to the Avatar.

"Well, I'm here. Take me to him." He said, the authority clear in his voice.

"Yes, sir." Three soldiers said in unison.

They lead him off the deck and into the woods leaves crunching under their metal armor. He moved branches out of the way listening to the birds making noises in the sky and for anybody that might sneak up on them. The he stopped walking muscles tensing. He could've sworn he had heard something to his left. Like someone, a person, stepping over a branch. He turned towards the noise but saw nothing but low lying branches, and bushes.

"What is it sir?" One of the guards spoke up.

"It was nothing, my imagination." But he couldn't help the prickle of unease that had settled over him. Something just didn't seem right.

They continued to walk, and although the birds were still chirping, the sound seemed more panicked, more distressed than before. He decided to see if his soldiers noticed the difference to make sure he wasn't just being paranoid. "Have you guys noticed some-"

He was cut off as a blurb of water barreled passed him and knocked his nearest soldier into a tree. Immediately Zuko went into a defensive stance prepared for any other blobs that might knock him down. The man next to him did the same but was a step too late as water threw him into a giant stone. That left Zuko with only one man left standing next to him. Although he probably wouldn't last long against his water bender.

Wait, his water bender?

His thoughts were brought to a stop when he heard a yelp next to him. Now it was only Zuko to fend for himself. A ball of water flew towards his face and Zuko deflected it with a wall of fire and jumped to the side shooting off a couple of fireballs in the direction the water had come from. He could see a blue shape darting through the trees and he followed it with his eyes sending fireballs after it until he couldn't see it anymore. Silence engulfed the area around him as he scanned the trees. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. There! he thought.

Putting his left foot forward he brought his hands out to push a giant ball of flame towards the movement with a victory cry. He paused expecting to see the water bender scarred on the ground but instead saw nothing. Confusion settled upon him when he felt something push him into the ground. Ice froze him there helpless. His face was to the ground, as he felt his back being penetrated with a deep stare. He began to melt the ice but it just re-solidified itself.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again." It was her. Katara. Her voice made him shiver involuntarily. He bit his lip to stifle a groan.

He chuckled into the ground, "What a shame don't you think it would be better if you were down here?"

She didn't see the humor and instead tightened the ice around his hands and ankles, "Ha-ha how very not funny."

With the way she was talking it seemed as if she wasn't there last night. As if it didn't even happen. Well of course he thought to himself it was a dream. Of course she wasn't there she would never do that to you. He felt a flash of pain at the thought that what they had shared was all in his head. He clenched his teeth. "So what are you going to do with me."

"Well I have a couple of actions really. I could A) leave you here and escape with my friends, B) Kill you or C) Let you go and possibly get burned to a crisp."

"I say the third option is better."

"I personally like life and would rather live."

He frowned, "But I thought you would enjoy being crispy."

She laughed as he turned his head to the side, one golden orb landing on her laughing face. Agni she was so beautiful when she laughed.

She stopped laughing and frowned, "What are you staring at?"

"You. Duh."

Her frown deepened. "Why?"

"Because I can."

"Uh-huh. Well nice talking to you."

"Wait!"

She turned slowly, "And why, prince Zuko, should I wait for you?"

"Have you had any dreams?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well of course Prince everyone has dreams."

He knew she was trying to cover up but he could tell she wasn't telling the full truth. In the way her eyes shifted away from his and how she shuffled her feet he could tell. "Not just any dreams, Katara."

She shivered when he said her name. "What type of dreams then?"

"Strange. Erotic." He turned his head towards her and smirked. "Might have involved me."

A snort. "Talk about high self esteem."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Have you?"

He watched her lick her lips and bring her eyes to his. He could feel himself getting hard. The things she did to him! "And if I have?"

Before he could respond he heard a large bang in the distance and felt Katara's hold on his hands loosen. Using the distraction to his advantage he melted his bonds and pinned the water bender to the ground. Her blue eyes met his with fear as words echoed in his head. Much like the one's he heard last night before he encountered Katara.

_"Sleep."_

Then the world went black as he drifted into a darkness.

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

Zuko was at the beach once more but this time there were obvious changes. The once calm blue ocean was now black and churning as if instead of water it was a black gorge of oil. The sky was cracked in many places like a broken mirror. Whatever this world was it was coming apart. He looked wildly around him searching for anything or anyone.

"Izura?" He called out. No answer.

"Katara?" No response.

Something was wrong. What exactly was going on? It was then he noticed a shape on the ground in the corner of his eye. His eyes widened in recognition. "Katara!"

He bent down and flipped her over so that she was facing him, "Katara, wake up!"

Her eyelids slowly fluttered and then were suddenly alert and open, "Zuko?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, but-" she cut off taking in the scene in front of her. "What happened here?"

He shook his head, "I don't know but we need to get out of here."

"That you do." A soft feminine voice said in the direction of ocean.

Zuko didn't recognize the voice but apparently Katara did because her head quickly whipped up, "Azuri!"

"Hello, Katara. You may have noticed something different about this place."

The woman looked just like Katara but older and garbed in the same way Izura was only opposite. She seemed just as old and just as powerful although in a different way than Izura was.

"Of course I have. What's happening?"

"This place has been tainted by a spirit of some sort."

This time Zuko was the one to talk, "You can't just get rid of it?"

Azuri shook her head, "Its not that easy."

"What do you mean its not that easy?" He yelled, his impatience showing once more.

Her eyes flashed, "It would do you well to remain calm boy."

Zuko scowled as a deep masculine chuckle came from behind them. "Well Zuko, still full of fire I see."

"That wasn't a funny joke, Izura."

The young man floating in a golden orb frowned, "It wasn't supposed to be."

"Wait," Katara said turning back to Azuri, "What is this spirit and why should we worry about it? Isn't this a dream?"

"Katara this world is somewhere between dream and reality a sort of loop between things. It also means it's an imbalance making it easier for two souls who are connected to meet or for one sinister spirit to pass through."

"So is that what happened?" Zuko questioned.

"Yes, one sinister spirit passed through and is now slowly plaguing this world and once its done destroying this one it will move onto reality." Answered Izura.

"What will it do there?"

"Destroy it." The two answered at the same time.

Zuko felt a shudder run down his back and looked at Katara. She was staring at him worry in his eyes. "What can we do to stop it?"

"There is a sword" said Azuri, "Katara should already have it."

"Sword? But- I-" Katara's eyes widened in realization, "Do you mean that sword my brother bought? But what can that fake piece of junk do?"

"Its not a piece of junk it is in fact the real thing."

"Maybe Sokka isn't a complete idiot. I should tell him that."

It was Izura's turn to speak, "There is a stone near here. That's where the spirit's earthly connection lies."

"How will we know what stone it is?"

"Trust me Zuko, you will know."

"Okay when do we start this magical quest to save the world?"

Izura smirks, "Now of course."

The world swirls and then once again everything fades into black.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

_**Katara**_

Katara woke up slightly groggy and felt a heavy weight on top of her.

"What the-" She shoved the fire prince off her as soon as she realized who it was.

"Ouch." he muttered sending a glare her way.

"Sorry."

He got up and turned to her, "You had the dream too right?"

She nodded, seeing no point in lying.

He looked around slowly before turning his eyes back onto her, "Where is this sword anyways?"

It didn't take much thought to answer that question, "With my brother."

"And he is…"

"At camp. Come on."

She stalked into the trees and began to wonder why she was trusting him so easily. Then she realized that by saying she had the dream she was saying that she did willingly have sex with him in that dream. At that point she was honestly tempted to face palm herself. Seriously she deserved it at this point. The sound of their feet crunching through the underbrush was loud and she could clearly feel him behind her. Even with his layer of armor and her layers of clothes there was still some sort of tension in the air. The same tension she had felt right before they-

She cut off her thoughts there and instead thought of puppies. Cute adorable puppies without scars and golden eyes a girl could drift in.

Nope definitely puppies.

Soon, with cute animals on her mind, she arrived to the camp without once pouncing the prince. She deserved a sticker for that. Honestly, what an accomplishment.

"We're here." she looked around and saw no one other than a few bags and a makeshift tent.

"No one's here?" he whispered.

"Nope, seems not." Katara crept towards Sokka's bag and was immediately able to locate the sword.

Zuko immediately lifted it from her hands and did a few test swings. "Did you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The tug when you lifted the sword."

"I only felt you snatching it from my hands."

He blushed. How cute. "Sorry about that. But its like its trying to tell me-"

She watched his head jerk up to a row of trees to their left. "What?"

"Come on." And then he trudged back into the forest, leading the way this time.

They walked in silence, Katara wondering what exactly he was talking about and where he was leading them. Is this what, who was he again, Izura was talking about? How Zuko would just know where the stone was? Left to her own thoughts Katara followed Zuko until he suddenly stopped.

"Are we here?"

He scratched his head, "Yeah but this isn't exactly what I thought it would be."

They had stopped in front of a small stone that was only abut knee level. It had indentions of what may have once been words but were now only faded random scratches. A tangle of weeds surrounded it almost completely, hiding it.

"Well here goes nothing." Zuko hefted up the sword and in one swing cut the headstone into two halves where it promptly turned into dust. A breeze picked up the dust in the two piles and blew them away.

Katara stared at the empty space skeptically, "Was that really it?"

He shrugged, "I suppose so."

No sooner had they turned away when a rumble went across the earth and an unearthly shriek filled the air. Zuko brought Katara close to him and brandished the sword in front of him. Usually, she would rather fight for herself but something told her water bending wouldn't help her in this situation. So instead she clung to his side and let her eyes rest on the impressive sight in front of her.

A multicolored dragon slithered in the air above her head, twisting into the sky. Its loud shriek echoed across the area as it sharply turned down and at an impossible speed aimed towards the two. Noticing this, he pushed Katara away and swung the sword down, missing the beast by an inch. Quickly using its tail it whipped Zuko into a tree. With a thud he hit the tree and lay limply on the ground. The sword rested a few feet away from him, right next to Katara. After staring at his limp body in horror Katara grabbed the sword and charged.

Her uncoordinated attack was quickly noticed and the dragon just whipped her aside. She landed on the ground, hard. Her head thudded as her eyes flashed. One there was second color, and the next darkness. There was a dark throbbing in her head as a trickle of something warm traveled down her back. Was that, blood? Fighting her wave of nausea she grabbed the sword again and unsteadily got to her feet. Right before she began to charge once more she felt a hand clamp onto her arm.

"Kata…ra?" It was Zuko.

He was leaning against the tree, using it for support. She felt an unidentified need well up inside her, "Zuko, are you okay?"

A snort, "I've seen better days."

She watched him walk over to her, a slight limp in his step, "You look like you have."

'This thing is pretty strong, and it doesn't react to bending. Water and fire would go right through it."

"How do you know?"

"I just sense it." In truth, she could believe that seeing as she ha sensed the same danger.

"Then what do we do?"

"We kill it with the sword."

"Well of course, but how?"

There was a short silence before his eyes lit up, "I've got a plan."

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

She frowned. Quite frankly she didn't like this plan.

There was even a possibility that she hated it.

Why did she have to kill the dragon. Sending out final blows wasn't exactly her forte. Sending out any blows in fact wasn't exactly something she excelled at. But here she was, sword in hand, waiting for the dragon to come across the river. She guessed it made sense for Zuko, the most injured one, to be the decoy but honestly killing wasn't something she agreed with. She sighed, even still if all ends well then we can-

Then we can what? Run off together into the sunset? Not likely. Even if for now they were on the same team he was still trying to capture her friend. Join their side? Also unlikely since he was so obsessed with "regaining his honor". She sighed, maybe there really was no future for them. Katara wasn't exactly sure why this idea perturbed her so much. He has always been her enemy but at what point did he become so much more than that?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan to her right. Taking this as the signal she walked into the water and turned towards the immense shape of the dragon. Zuko, with the dragon right behind him was running toward Katara. Just like they had planned with Zuko's armor off he was coming quickly down the river side to get to her. She could see the sheen of sweat covering his face and thought that maybe being a decoy was actually a really crappy job. She watched the dragon almost snap his leg.

Yeah. Really crappy.

Then finally when the spirit was close she used all her will power and bended so that she was floating under the dragon using the river's water to lift her up. With her sword in hands she stabbed up into the dragon and slid down from its top to its tail. A clean cut all the way through. She watched as with a final scream the dragon turned into dust, just like its stone, and disappeared.

She sank back down and joined Zuko on the side of the stream. She watched the sweat travel in rivulets down his face.

"Well…that…went well." He panted. Not having enough air to make a full sentence.

"Yeah it did. Nice job partner." She held out her hand for a high five and watched as he missed. They both laughed.

His ponytail had come loose while he had been running and not his hair just settled around his head. They ceased conversation as his breath evened out.

Then he began to speak. "So does this mean its over?"

"Well yeah, we killed the evil spirit."

A smile, "Good."

"Katara!" It was the sound of Aang's voice coming from a distance in the woods."

"Guess that's my cue to leave."

"Maybe. You know you're actually not that bad when your not screaming about the avatar all the time."

A laugh, "Your not so bad yourself when your not trying to kill me."

"Yeah." She watched as he began to rise and walk away across the river.

He turned back to her when he made it across the river, "I'll be seeing you."

She smiled, "Only in your dreams."

He laughed as he walked away, disappearing into the trees. Just at that moment, Aang and Sokka burst from the trees closest to her.

"Katara!" Aang called.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Why?"

"We heard a loud rumble and some weird shriek so we came rushing over but you seem fine."

"You are fine right?" said Aang, voice full of worry.

She shrugged away his worry holding out her arms for his inspection, "I'm fine. See?"

"Good. Now let's go we're on a mission remember?"

"Yes Mr. Avatar how could I forget."

He smiled brightly and began to talk about senseless things. But Katara couldn't help but look back across the river where she knew he would be. With a frown she turned her head back to the gang and made a silent wish.

Don't let that be the last time.

~oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

Iroh sipped his tea enjoying the soft fragrance of it. There was a shuffle to his left as someone settled down in the seat across from him. A white china tea pot was put on his table along with another cup of tea. This one in a less steady hand.

"So Iroh," the voice was old and scratchy. Masculine but strong. "Did everything work out the way you planned?"

He laughed, "More or less. Although he tries not to show it he is blatantly honest when it comes to his feelings."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. And the girl? Katara?"

"Done as you ask, though I must ask how did you know she would come to me?"

"I have a good intuition."

"Be honest with me Iroh."

A coy grin, "I'm just glad everything worked out,"

"May I ask for the reason behind all this trouble?"

"I just wanted my nephew to let loose and you know relish in true emotions."

A secret smile passed between the two old men as the creaky sound of a broken sign drifted through the wind.

* * *

**And that's the end. I feel like I should say that if you want a sequel I have an idea for one but if not then this is it. Hope you enjoyed. Please be free to leave a comment. One comment is enough to brighten up my day. **


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